Social Commentary

The Pardoner is below what was considered the lower class in Medieval England. He is a con artist who took advantage of the workng class by selling false relics. Relics were ancient religious items sold, the more relics a person possesses the greater social rank one had. The Pardoner sold illegitimate relics and begged for people to buy them in order to make a living for himself instead of holding any respectable occupation. The Pardoner's tale indirectly displays the greedy and unfaithful hcharacteristics of low class society in Medieval England.